Szczurek encourages entrepreneurs to research the market to
ensure they are launching a business at the right time.
"Before you take the leap, get feedback from the marketplace,
create a business plan, and run the numbers to see if your idea
will work," she says.
Stone, 37, started thinking about publishing a magazine for
active women several years ago, but put the idea on hold because
the timing was not right. "I was competing in the Ironman, and
I started talking to a magazine publisher about the fact that there
were no sports magazines targeted specifically to women. [I] joked
that I should start one," Stone recalls. "But shortly
after that, Sports Illustrated for Women came out, and I put
the idea on the back burner."
But Sports Illustrated for Women was short-lived, and
when it folded in 2002, Stone revisited her dream of launching a
magazine. "The same day I found out that [Sports
Illustrated for Women] was publishing their last issue, I went
into my home office and didn't come out for hours," Stone
says. "Later that night, I had a rough business plan and
announced to my husband that I was going to start a
magazine."
Content Continues Below
Stone quit her job as the chief marketing officer for a
multimillion-dollar company and spent months working on putting all
the pieces together to launch Her Sports from her home in
St. Petersburg, Florida. Says Stone, "When the first issue
came off the press... I literally broke down, because I had
realized my dream of putting together this phenomenal
magazine."
Timing is important, but Anderson warns that waiting for the
right time may simply be a tactic to put off taking the next step.
"Most people wait for everything to be perfect before starting
a business," she says. "Turning a passion into a business
means that you would be doing it even if you were not being paid
for it. Getting paid for it is the next logical step, so sometimes
you just have to go for it."
Learn From Others
Stone was confident that Her Sports would succeed in large
part because she was careful not to make the same mistakes as other
magazines that have failed. "One of the reasons the other
magazines failed was because of costs," she says. "Most
magazines spent millions to launch, whereas we spent almost
nothing. They also had the overhead of Manhattan offices and
hundreds of employees, but we have small offices in Florida and
only eight employees."
According to Anderson, hearing success stories and learning
about the challenges of the industry is an important first step in
turning a passion into a business. She also recommends talking to
potential suppliers and customers about their experiences with the
industry, and approaching networking groups and small-business
associations for guidance and feedback. "Talk to people who
have experience and love what they're doing," Anderson
advises. "Those are the people who will tell you about the
challenges, but they will also highlight the positives so that you
are getting balanced advice."
Capitalize on Consumer
Demand
David Young has had a passion for playing pinball since he was a
little kid, but he never imagined that he would grow up to own a
leading international gaming company. In fact, selling pinball
machines never entered his mind until a passerby stopped to ask
about a pinball machine being delivered to his Florida home in
2002, and he realized that his collection was in high demand.
"He stopped to talk to me because he thought I sold pinball
machines," recalls Young, 44. "I said, 'No, I collect
pinball machines.' He wanted to know how many I had and then
asked if he could check them out."
Minutes later, the passerby offered Young $5,000 for the pinball
machine that had just been delivered. "I only paid $2,000 for
it, so of course I agreed," Young says. The passerby returned
with the money and a friend to help move the machine, and by the
time the pair left, Young had sold them $15,000 worth of arcade
games.
At the time, Young owned a successful computer-chip distributor,
but curiosity about the potential revenue stream that could result
from selling his collection of pinball machines led him to learn
HTML and launch BMIGaming.com in Boca Raton, Florida, as a side
venture. "I put together a simple website, I made my first
sale 48 hours later, and in the space of a few weeks, I sold all of
my pinball machines," Young recalls.
Though Young is still involved in his high-tech business, his
primary focus is on growing BMIGaming.com. His efforts have paid
off: The company expects sales to top $8 million in 2005. "I
have been excited about every venture I have ever [started],"
Young says. "But I have never done anything like this that
combines a passion that is also highly profitable."
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